Comic Book Day: Pull List for September 11th, 2013

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While we may not be getting a graphic novel adaptation of Batman’s greatest adventure, in which he convinces Will Hunting to leave Gotham Boston for greener pastures, we do have a delightful deluge of new titles on this week’s Pull List that will sate even the most rabid of comic appetites. It’s Comic Book Day, guys, and we’ve got a heaping helping of everything from zombies to super spies to all manner of Batmen and more!

Top Picks

The Walking Dead #114 | Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard

Can you smell that? That’s the smell of “All Out War” stewing in its own delightfully deranged juices in Kirkman’s ongoing pressure cooker, building up to October’s 10th anniversary celebration of The Walking Dead. For a while, I fell off the TWD bandwagon, but after speaking with Kirkman at Image Expo, I found myself getting sucked back in to his bleak, yet incredibly immersive world.

The tension is at fever pitch in issue #114 as we pick up where we left off, mid-standoff with Negan and his men who have Rick and the survivors on their knees to await a summary execution. For all they know, Andrea is dead, having fallen to her death from the clocktower. We the readers know this isn’t the case, but it’s interesting to see just how it crushes Rick’s spirit and diminishes his will to fight. It’s only thanks to the last minute intervention of others, who we now know exist in this Larger World, that Rick and his crew are able to escape what’s sure to be a grisly fate. This issue takes care of a lot of table-setting, letting both Team Rick know about Negan’s arsenal and Team Negan know that Rick has allies with tigers and Jesus and Carls, oh my! Thanks to continually stellar artwork from Charlie Adlard, the issue’s closing words are equal parts horrifying and exhilarating — get ready because, “We’re going to war.”

The Dark Knight stays true to his moniker in this debut Batman: Black and White anthology issue, which collects a number of short stories from some seriously impressive creators rendered in the moody, stark black and white to which Batman and Gotham City are uniquely suited. Of particular note is Neal Adams’ delightfully weird “Batman Zombie”, a twisted tale which imagines the Caped Crusader as one of the walking dead, his brain functional but his body incapable of stopping the injustices which he sees around him. It’s a powerful, albeit deeply odd rumination on the nature of justice and whether Bruce needs to don the iconic cowl to affect change and a much needed message in this time of unrest and uncertainty. This is a must-buy for Bat-fans, as the sheer variety of narratives and the jaw-dropping artwork will leave you yearning for more.

Peter Hogan’s undercover visitor from another planet returns in Resident Alien: The Suicide Blonde, a standalone murder mystery that finds our hero in disguise, Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle, trying to solve the mystery behind an apparent suicide. Something doesn’t add up and when one of Harry’s human friends is implicated in the crime, things get personal, sending Harry after the real culprit, who may just be hiding in Seattle. Unfortunately, a murderer on the loose isn’t the only thing Harry has to worry about — the feds may have zeroed in on the fact that he’s hiding in the Pacific Northwest. Resident Alien: The Suicide Blonde #1 is a cold, calculated mystery that sucks you in and doesn’t let go. Steve Parkhouse’s moody, muted palette gives the book an ominous air that lends itself perfectly to the subject matter. Don’t let this unnerving, weird, out of this world mystery pass you by; after the first issue, you’ll want to be hot on Hogan and Parkhouse’s trail.

Comments

Look, ‘Anoneymous’ (and for the record, it’s spelled “Anonymous”), New Comic Book Day has nothing to do with what happened. I have been to the 911 Memorial in New York this year, and I saw the plaques of all of the names of the people we unfortunately lost. It is a horrific tragedy.

But New Comic Book Day was happening before that occured. Just because they list the releases, that does not mean anyone will ever forget what happened. No one is ever going to forget.

And as Jean said, most of us need comics for escapism from how shitty life can be sometimes. Yes, comics are viable entertainment…but the chance to immerse ourselves in worlds that can be better than this one at times is something to look forward to.

@Anoneymous Yes, today of all day, it is necessary to post pull lists and sell comics like every other NCBD, cause I don’t know how you guys cope with shit that happens in real life but some of us actually need comics…